Drying apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

T. A. EDISON. DRYING APPARATUS.

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

` T.A.'BDIS0N. KDRYING APPARATUS.-

No. 605,475. Patented J A miiillmn TQZ, MIIIIIIIILIIHIII-lllllllllllillHIIllillllllllllllll v Ililllllllllnnlu MMIII!" NIH w Illu IIIHIIIMII Il* itirEn rAfrEs "AfrErvfr THOMAS A. EDISoN, or LEEWEELYN PARK, NEW JERSEY.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,475, dated June 14, 1898.

Aptiimion ned June 29, 1897.

` and useful Improvement in Ovens, (Case No.

980,) of which the following is a specification. The object I have in view is to produce a drying or baking oven suitable for the drying or baking of iron-ore briquets or analogous material.

In the accompanying drawings, forming `part hereof, Figure l is an elevation and partial section of the oven, and Fig. 2 is a topl view with a portion of the top of the oven removed.

The heating chamber A of the oven is a vertical chamber or stack having an oblong cross-section. The vertical walls are preferably of ordinary brick a, lined inside with fire-brick b and an intermediate filling c of mineral wool or asbestos. Below the stack and at one end thereof is the furnace B,which delivers the products of combustion to the entire lower end of the heating-cha1nber,from which they escapeat the upper end through `a stack C. A controllable'supply of airis furnished to the furnace both above and below the grate-bars. Upon the top of the vertical walls are mounted I-beams D, the top of the oven being closed by plates E, which are covered with sand. The troughs, buckets, or shelves F, which carry the briquets, are of sheet metal and preferably perforated, as shown, to permit the hot gases to pass through the load of briquets carried by each. They are preferably U shape in cross-section and areclosed at their ends by semicircular metal plates, which are swung on the pivot -pins connecting the links of two chains G H,

These bucket pins are case-hardened, since they cannot be lubricated, and I have found that this gives a smooth glassy surface which has the minimum friction and wear. The chains Gr H enter the rear wall of the oven at its lower end through a suitable opening d` Iing in free loops between these shafts.

Serial No. 642,814. (No modeh) ,After passing over the sprocketwheels on the shaft J the chains hang in afree loop eX- tending to near the bottom of the heating.- chambcr and returning to sprocket-wheels on a shaft K at the top of the oven. In the same manner the chains extend over sprocketwheels on other shafts L, M, N, and O, hang- After passing over the sprocket-wheels on the last shaft O the chains pass downwardly to the bottom of the oven, around guiding sprocketwheels on a shaft I), and horizontally toward the rear of the oven and out through a suitable opening c to a conveyer, into which the buckets discharge, the chains bein-g supported between the shaft P and this opening by a suitable number of sprocket-wheels. To drive the chains and the buckets supported bythem so as to maintain the position of the freelyhanging loops, I connect a drivingchain Q with a sprocket-wheel on the shaft O outside of the oven. y shaft O is connected by a chain" R with a sprocket-wheel on the end of the shaft N outside of the oven. The shaft N is in turn connected at its other end by a chain S with a At the other end the sprocket-wheel on the end of the shaft M.

In like manner the shaft M is coupled to the shaft L, the shaft L to the shaft K, and the shaft K to the shaft J, all these sprocketchains being located outside of the oven. Thus the motion communicated to the shaft O by the driving-chain Q is in turn communicated with the Same speed to all the other shafts at the top of the oven, over which the bucket-chains are looped, and the length of the loops is thus maintained the same.

By having the bucket-chains hang in loops in the heating-chamber no trouble is caused by.contraction and expansion and a great length of the chains is secured in a heatingchamber of minimum size.

l. In a heating or baking oven for drying or baking pulverized ore and similar material in bulk, the combination of a vertically- "disposed heating-chamber, means for heating the same, a series of shafts passing through the interior of the chamber near the upper end thereof, a continuous conveying-chain near each side of the chamber extending over said shafts and hanging in free loops, a series IOO of swinging buckets carried by said chains,

.and means for driving the chains at an apvtion of .which aredirected throughthe chamber, shafts mounted in the heating-chamber near its upper end and in the same horizontal plane, a continuous conveying-chain near each side of the chamber extending over said shafts and hanging in free loops, a series of swinging buckets carried by said chains, and means for driving the chains at an .approximately constant speed throughout their lengths, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a heating and baking oven, the combination of a vertical heating-chamber, shafts passing through the interior of the chamber, sprocket-Wheels on said shafts within the chamber, chains hanging in free loops from said sprocket-wheels, a series of iiights for carrying material attached to the chains, and means for driving the shafts positively at the same rate of speed, substantially as set forth.

4C. In a heating and baking oven, the combination of a vertical heating-chamber, shafts passing through the interior of the chamber, sprocket-wheels on said shafts within the chamber, endless chains hanging in free loops fromv said sprocket-wheels, a series of swinging iiights for carrying material attached to the chains, means for driving one of the shafts outsideof the chamber, and sprocketwheels vand chains connecting the several shafts outside the chamber arranged alternately on opposite sides of the chamber, whereby al1 the shafts will be driven at the same rate of speed, substantially as set forth.

5. In a heating and baking oven, the combination of avertical heating-chamber, shafts passing across the. top of said chamber, sprocket-Wheels on said shafts Within the chamber, chains hanging in free loops from said sprocket-wheels, and a series of swinging perforated U-shaped buckets carried by said chains, substantially as set forth.

6. In a heating and baking oven, the combination of a vertical heating-chamber, shafts passing across the top of said chamber, sprocket'- wheels on said shafts Within the chamber, a conveyer formed of endless'chains passing over said sprocket-wheels with a series of swinging buckets between them, said conveyer hanging in free loops in the chamber, and means for supporting and conducting part of such conveyer without the oven, whereby the material may be placed upon or removed from the buckets of the conveyers, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 10th day of June, 1897.

THOMAS A. EDISON.

Witnesses:

RICHARD N. DYER, W. PELZER. 

